Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on dismissed suggestions of a rift with the Anna Hazare-led team and said he has asked his supporters to join the day-long fast by the social activist and his aides in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday went the extra mile to persuade yoga guru Baba Ramdev not to go ahead with his hunger strike from June 4, promising him to find a "practical and pragmatic" solution to tackle the issue of corruption.
"Mayawati has indulged in self-glorification by receiving garlands made of currency notes in utter disregard to the condition of majority of her political constituency -- the Dalits," Ramdev told media persons in Gangtok.
Noting that he was "not focussed" on politics, the 53-year-old yoga guru said he would not support or oppose anyone in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev's social outfit, the Bharat Swabhiman Trust, has initiated a training programme for young volunteers from across the nation to campaign against 'corrupt and tainted' political leaders during the upcoming five-state assembly polls
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Ramdev-run Bharat Swabhiman Trust seeking review of its judgement in which it had criticised the yoga guru's disciples for indulging in brick batting with police during the midnight crackdown at the Ramlila Maidan last summer.
Asked why Congress had not reacted to Ramdev's call on black money, Congress media department chief Janardhan Dwivedi said, "It is true that we did not say anything as we cannot speak their language or behave like them. And now it is out in the open how politics is being done in a different guise."
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday claimed that he was not aspiring for any political power but was only seeking "political purity" to lead the country on the path of "value-based development."
Ramdev is the founder of the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and the Patanjali Yogpeeth in Hardwar in Uttarakhand in India. He conducts monthly yoga camps and gives TV shows in India.
With the government toughening its stand against Baba Ramdev, the yoga guru on Tuesday said he forgave Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the crackdown on his agitation but history will not forgive him for the "political sin" he committed.
The government and Baba Ramdev were on Friday locked in a standoff over his indefinite fast against black money leading to a blame game between the two sides. The yoga guru was in a tight corner after government released\\na letter from his aide that he would call off the agitation by mid-day.
Union Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay, who were part of the delegation that had held talks Baba Ramdev held a joint press on Saturday evening where they announced that the yoga guru had told the he would calle off his fast against corruption. They also produced a letter written by Ramdev.
The midnight crackdown on Ramdev and his followers at the Ramlila ground during their protest against corruption was a result of "irresponsible" behaviour of the yoga guru's running away from the venue and leaving his supporters who resorted to unprovoked violence, Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Monday.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Sunday gave a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on corruption issues saying, "he has not done anything wrong".
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Monday said he would take a call on contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections depending upon the success of his agitation scheduled next month in Delhi.
Strongly condemning police action against Baba Ramdev and his supporters at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, the United States unit of Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party said its chief has joined the yoga guru in India on behalf of overseas Indians.
The Supreme Court will hear on Monday the suo-moto case on the police crackdown on yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers at Ramlila Ground on June 4. The court had on June 6 taken suo motu cognisance of the police action on a gathering of Ramdev and his followers at Ramlila Maidan where they were staging a protest on the issue of corruption and black money. They had asked the Centre and Delhi police to explain why there was a need to use teargas and baton-charge.
Six Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs who voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections, along with three Independent lawmakers, have shifted to a hotel in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttarakhand amid an ongoing rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Differences seem to have cropped up within the civil society group over the demand for inclusion of the prime minister and higher judiciary in the Lokpal Bill. Baba Ramdev said he is opposed to such a move.
The midnight crackdown on Ramdev and his followers at the Ramlila ground during their protest against corruption was a result of "entire mess" created by them and yoga guru should take "responsibility" for it, Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Friday.
Neerja Chowdhury explains why the government was soft where it could have been tough. And tough where it could have demonstrated more patience
Neerja Chowdhury explains why the government was soft where it could have been tough. And tough where it could have demonstrated more patience
Indian students in the United States have condemned the police action against yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his supporters in New Delhi, saying the government has lost "moral authority" and people's faith.
The CPI-M leader accused the yoga guru of violating labour laws in his pharmacy and the Uttaranchal goverment of covering it up.
"The licence for the drug was obtained on the basis of the traditional knowledge and experience related to the medicinal virtues of Ashwagandha, Giloy and Tulsi," Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala said.
Aiming to "awaken people about corruption and black money", Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday started the 1,00,000-km-long Bharat Swambiman Yatra from Jhansi. "My yatra, 2012 Mahasangram, will awaken people in the entire country on the issue of black money and corruption. The Mahasangram, which started from the land of Veerangana Rani Lakshmi Bai, will reach Parliament one day," he said on the first day of the yatra.
"The Congress has failed to develop Assam despite being in power for such a long period and its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had virtually bade farewell to the people of a part of the state during the 1962 Chinese aggression.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sought to distance itself from yoga guru Baba Ramdev's plan to set up a force as part of his anti-corruption crusade, saying the party never propagates violence. "We will not support anything like that as the party never propagates violence," BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said. He said BJP would extend moral support to anybody who will come forward to fight corruption.
Addressing media persons, Soni said: "India is a proud nation. Mahatma Gandhi uprooted the British empire through power of satyagraha from the Indian soil. Violence has no place in Indian society."
Back-channel talks are on between the government and Baba Ramdev to resolve the standoff in the wake of his going ahead with the indefinite hunger strike on corruption and other issues. Though there are no official meetings scheduled between the two sides, sources said, "Talks are one and it is not necessary to meet for holding a dialogue." They hoped something positive would come out of this exercise.
For health enthusiasts in the US, popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev is scheduled to conduct a virtual session on common yoga protocol with postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation during an online event organised by the Indian Consulate in Houston in collaboration with various community organisations.
Ramdev heaped praise on Sushil Kumar's CWG feat
Baba Ramdev on Wednesday again took up the issue of police crackdown on his supporters, saying he would set up a 11,000-strong force to deal with police and anti-social elements attempting to disrupt his anti-corruption movement.
Didn't call Ramdev a dog; will quit if proven true: Cong MP
The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's aide Balkrishna on July 28 for questioning as he went 'missing' two days after a case was registered against him for allegedly furnishing fake educational degree for procuring a passport.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Bharat Swabhiman Trust run by Baba Ramdev, saying it wants to hear its version over the eviction of the yoga guru and his supporters from Ramlila Maidan. A vacation bench comprising justices P Sathasivam and A K Patnaik issued a notice to Acharya Virendra Vikram, the president of the Delhi unit of Bharat Swabhiman Trust. The apex court said it wants to hear the other side as a chance should be given to them.
As yoga guru Baba Ramdev's agitation enters the fourth day, hundreds of supporters have come to Haridwar to pledge their support and give momentum to his movement against corruption and black money.
The Bharatiya Janata Party should project Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its leader in the next Lok Sabha elections and change its priorities if it wants to return to power, yoga guru Baba Ramdev said on Sunday. He said that the Congress cannot return to power due to its "anti-people policies" but the BJP can do so, provided it changed its priorities.
Many Dharmagurus attended the Shubh Ashirwad ceremony.
On Tuesday, yoga guru Ramdev Baba became the first non-Muslim cleric addressed the annual convention of Islamic seminaries under the guidance of Islamic organisation Jamait-e-Ulema Hind at the historic seminary in Deoband, about 500 km from Lucknow, which is known for its sweeping influence over majority of Sunni Muslims in the country.
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